40th anniversary of the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation

19/10/2017

News

The European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD) holds its annual Conference in Strasbourg on 19-20 October to mark its 40th anniversary. Topics to be discussed include the role of knowledge as a pre-condition of the optimal functioning of parliament, the evolution of the information needs of MPs, political bodies and administrations as well as new standards and services of research services and libraries in parliaments.

The ECPRD brings together representatives of the Secretariat of PACE, the European Parliament, all parliaments whose President is a member of the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament as well as of countries with special guest or observer status with PACE.

The main activities of the ECPRD involve dealing with requests from one parliament to others in the network for information which is used to compare the legislative activities and parliamentary practice across different countries and in different institutions. There are also seminars hosted by one of the ECPRD member Parliaments which enable participants from member Parliaments to exchange different experiences and practices.

Welcoming some 70 participants, PACE Secretary General Wojciech Sawicki, himself a former ECPRD Co-Director, stressed the success story of the ECPRD as tool for inter-parliamentary cooperation and information exchange thanks to the interest, dedication and solidarity of all its contributors as well as the technological progress allowing for increased responsiveness.